Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Council of Europe report on the observation of the 2023 presidential election in Turkey.

We have noted the findings of the independent election observation missions in the recent Turkish Presidential and Parliamentary elections, including by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). We note from their conclusions that the elections offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives and voter participation remained high, but there remains more work to do to ensure media freedom and fair judicial treatment of political opponents in Turkey. In our regular interaction with Turkey, we consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. The UK, along with all other Council of Europe member States, will respond to the report through the Committee of Ministers.